Avengers 2
by NatashaandClint
Summary: The war with the Chitauri is over. Loki is defeated. But when they find out that Loki was nothing more than a pawn in someone else's games, the team is faced with new challenges. Together they are strong, but apart they are nothing. (Nat/Clint/Loki and Tony/Pepper romance)
1. Chapter 1

_Prologue_

_It's been 3 months since the Chitauri attack in New York. After painfully long hours of tracking, the final pieces of the alien technology has been collected and contained. Still, some losses just can't be forgotten. S.H.I.E.L.D still grieves over the death of their fellow agents including Agent Phil Coulson. But no one misses him more than his partner: Agent Maria Hill. Coulson was given a vast memorial and will forever be remembered._  
_The Avengers have gone their separate ways. Thor went back in Asgard with news of the Bifrost being restored, Banner and Stark were enthusiastic about their new energy project, Romanoff and Barton off on vacation, and Rogers starting to accept the modern times and changes. Nick Fury breathed a sigh of relief. The world was safe... For now._

* * *

Something tickled her nose. By instinct, Natasha's hand shot up to grab her attacker but he had expected this reaction. He grabbed her arm and twisted it sideways causing her to flip over and land on top of his body. She opened her eyes.

"Good morning." Clint Barton said giving her the all to familar warm smile.

"Well this is one hell of a way to wake up." She snickered

They both shared a soft laugh. Natasha's head rested on Clint's bare chest. He started to stroke her head in silence, then satisfied himself by playing with her fiery red hair.

"Are you still thinking of going back?" he whispered

"It's been a month Clint... and Fury..."

"Nat, if Fury needs us he will find us." Clint reassured,

Natasha sighed

"Hey" Clint cupped her face with his hand "Maybe I can make you forget about this..."

He leaned closer and so did she. Heart pounded and eyes closed, they leaned closer in agonizing slowness. closer... closer... closer...

"ARRGGGGGGGG!"

Natasha's eyes snapped open just to see Thor bursting through the glass window sending glass flying in every direction. He landed in a graceful crouch before standing up to inspect his surroundings. In his hand holds the very same case and the glowing blue cube known has the tesseract.

"Thor... What the hell-?" Clint started

"Its Loki. He's not alone. There was a third party involved." Thor continued totally unaware of the fact that they were both in bed with nothing but undergarments on.

Natasha knew what it must have looked like but Thor didn't seem to have noticed. She hastily covered myself with the bed sheets and rolled off Clint to her own side of the bed.

"I have no doubt that Loki will come after Earth and this tesseract when he is united with his allies. The question is if his allies will find it before him." Thor replied in his godly voice

"Well hello to you too." Clint muttered obviously unamused

Thor's attention went from Clint to Natasha when realization finally hit him.

"Oh m'lady and m'lord I was unaware that I was... Interrupting." he said awkwardly

"You should be s-" Clint started but Natasha cut him off

"No it's fine we weren't... You know." She stammered, "Back to what you said about Loki?"

"Right... Loki will come after the tesseract again but not before his allies does."

"Then why did you bring the cube here?" she asked, "Earth can't defend itself against the other planets."

"That's not the word going around." Thor replied, "The Deadly Avengers are now known all over the 9 worlds. The word is out that Earth is ready for a higher form of war. I needed the tesseract to transport myself here... and to transport all of you to Asgard..."

"Wait a minute... Asgard? Dude no offense but you weren't so pleasant the first time around and I'm not intrigued about being on a planet full of you people." Clint snorted, sarcasm and bitterness laced his voice

"Wait... we should talk Fury first and alert the rest of the avengers." Natasha said jumping off the bed. She headed towards the bathroom to change.

When the door shut Clint jumped off his bed and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Way to let a brother down Thor!" he sighed as he put on his Hawkeye uniform

"Agent Barton, I don't believe we are... brothers." Thor stated uncertainly

"Not by blood." Clint replied, "Dude have you ever heard of the bro code?"

"What is this... Bro code?" Thor asked still confused

"You never interrupt a man while he was... Doing his thing, you know?"

"Doing his thing?"

"Yeah! You know, having some happy time!"

"Happy time?" Thor asked, "Oh you mean making love!"

Thor's voice boomed louder than expected. Clint gave a "hush" motion and looked over his shoulder to make sure the bathroom door was still closed.

"No we weren't... Making love..." Clint sighed rather embarrassed, "It's been 3 months and today was going to be our first kiss!"

"3 months?"

"Yeah since Loki left Fury gave us all a vacation and hasn't called us back yet. So I've been trying to get it going on with Nat. But that girl's shell is harder than a titanium wall."

"Titanium wall?"

"Look... Natasha... She's a very closed person. Almost robotic. For almost 10 years she has shown nothing for me more than a partnership. But after whatever happened with Loki... She seems to have changed. A bit anyway. It's more than I have hoped for but I-"

The bathroom door clicked open and a uniformed Natasha came out in her famous catsuit. Thor and Clint both just stared at her

"Ready to go?" Natasha asked already heading towards the door.

"Uh... Yeah!" Clint replied grabbed his bow and arrows before following behind Natasha. He stopped at the doorway and turned around.

"Hey!" he said to Thor, "Anything that was said, stays between me and you, got it?"

Thor seems to be confused at first but he gave a dramatic head nod.

"Got it" he replied with a strong Asgardian accent.


	2. Chapter 2

For the 17th time Steve Rogers' hand touched the doorbell but the button still remained unpressed. He signed and looked at the address again:

33 Bloomingdales rd.

He looked up to see the gold plated numbers on the door that says: 33. He must have triple checked a couple hundred times but he was still uncertain if it was the right address. So he stood there on the white-painted porch. He was sure the neighbors were getting suspicious. Suddenly a red, run down convertible pulled into the parking space. Before he had a chance to bolt, the driver saw him.

"Hey!" the driver called.

As she stepped out of the car Steve could make out her appearance: her dark brown hair was pulled into a bun and her blue eyes sparkled with a strange familiarity. Judging from her almost fully developed facial and body features, Steve concludes that she was probably around 17 years old.

"Are you lost?" she asked. She walked up to the porch.

"Uh... No... I was just..." Steve stammered, "I was just leaving."

"Would you like to come in?" The girl asked. She pulled out a key and unlocked the door. Then she gestured for him to enter.

"Um... Thank you."

The girl shut the door and stepped out of her shoes before entering the hallway.

"Granny?" She yelled, "I brought company go put your stuff on!"

There was a faint reply "okay" followed by a click of a closing door. The girl led him into what looked like a dining room combined with a kitchen. Steve took a seat in one of the chairs and the girl went to make 2 cups of tea.

"So what are you doing here Captain?" The girl asked

Steve looked shocked for a moment. How did the girl know who he was? As if reading his mind the girl laughed an turned on the TV.

"You're all over the news. There isn't a person in this country that haven't heard of The Avengers" she laughed, "Well except for Grandma. She doesn't believe in heroes. She says that the only hero she knew died years ago."

Steve's eyes focused on the TV screen as replays of the battle are shown along with politicians making speeches about the thread of this Avengers force. Tony Stark seems to be the only one they caught in their net but he doesn't seem to mind taking the heat. He busied himself by talking to the press or pushing buttons on his pocket device.

"Sandy turn that crap down please! Those Avengers are all lies!" a voice came from behind them

Steve and Sandy both turn to see an old woman standing in the doorway using a walking stick to balance herself. She looked rather annoyed but when she saw Steve's face, her expression turned to disbelief.

"Oh... my... Lord!" She stumbled backwards. Steve and Sandy both rushed to her side to steady her.

"Steady, Granny" Sandy said helping her to a chair. The elderly's eyes never left Steve's face.

"Captian... Steve Rogers...?" she asked still in awe

"Grandma you know him?" Sandy asked but her grandma ignored him.

"Peggy..." Steve addressed her. It came out more like a question than a statement.

* * *

The phone rang and Tony ignored it.

"Tony? It's for you" Pepper held out the phone to Stark

"Tell them to leave a message. I'm busy" Stark said without looking up from his work.

"They said its an emergency." Pepper insisted

"What kind of emergency?"

They both turned to see Bruce Banner walking into the lab spontaneously pushing buttons on his device.

"It's nothing important." Tony reassured, "Have you finished the core?"

Banner ignored him and walked over to Pepper instead.

"Here let me take that." Pepper willingly handed him the phone

"Doctor Banner speaking... Yes... Wait he what?... Are you certain?"

His brow furrowed with worry as the speaker on the other line gave him more information.

"Wait what is he saying?" Tony asked taking some interest in the caller.

Banner ignored him

"Yes of course we'll be there. We'll send for Rogers as well. Thank you."

He hung up. Then with a hushed tone he spoke 3 words that left Tony speechless

"Thor is back..."


	3. Chapter 3

Thor coming back was not a bad thing. Tony understood that. But why he came back? Well that's a different story. Surely he did not come back just to see Jane. He was a king after all; duty came before love. He came because there was a problem. A problem that wore horns on his head and could turn any creature with a heart into his personal flying monkeys. A problem named "Loki".

As Stark walked towards the meeting room, he prayed that Loki was still behind bars back in Asgard. He wasn't thrilled about having to face that lunatic all over again.

When he walks in he sees that the other 5 avengers plus Hill and Fury were already there. That gives him a bit of comfort as he slides down onto his own seat.

"Loki wanted to be king. He tasted power and now he craves it. His allies must have found out and used him for their own game." Thor's brow furrowed with worry.

"Do we have any idea who his alliances might be?" Natasha asks. Unlike the rest of the Avengers who noticeably tensed at the mention of Loki's name, her posture remained calm and unchanging.

"The Chitauri were one. But as far as we know they are destroyed. I fear it's a new player. A stronger one. Loki refuses to talk." Thor looks uncomfortable at the mention of his brother's stubbornness. No doubt they've already tried to torture the information out of him with no success. Watching his brother must have been hard on Thor.

"Well now we have the tesseract" Fury interrupted breaking the tension.

"Loki came after it once. He needs it for whatever chaotic schemes he has in mind..." Clint let out a sigh.

"That's not all he will be needing." a new voice said.

A rather young looking female with black hair walked into the meeting room.

"Loki's scepter. It was powered by the tesseract. Whatever Loki plans on doing he will need both the tesseract and the scepter to fuel it." She said dropping some case files on the table

"I'm sorry, who is this?" Tony asked.

"This is Johnson, Daisy Johnson" Fury proclaimed, on cue, Daisy walked over and stood next to Nick Fury, "Agent Johnson is one of our most trusted agents. She was recommended for the Avengers initiative but was not able to join before due to some... personal issues. But it seems that what we are dealing with is more than any of us can handle and I believe Daisy's gift would be helpful in this situation."

"Thank you Director." Daisy smiled. Fury gave her a fatherly shoulder pat and waved towards the Avengers.

"Hello Agent Johnson, I'm Stark, Tony Stark." Tony said with grin, "l think that you are an excellent addition to this team. Might I interest you in-"

"Thank you Stark." Fury cleared his throat. Bruce Banner stood up next with an outstretched hand.

"Welcome, Daisy." he smiled. Daisy returned a dazzling smile

"Thank you Doctor Banner, I've heard great things about you."

Then the Captian shook hands with her followed by Barton and Thor. Natasha didn't move. Instead she shot Daisy a dangerous glare when she gave an outstretched hand. Daisy's smile disappeared for a second with a look of pure hatred, then just as quickly as it came, it disappeared and was replaced by the sweet smile once again. Daisy pulled her hand back in a ladylike way and smiled like nothing happened.

As the other Avengers congratulated and welcomed her, Clint approached Natasha who's face remained in the same dangerous glare.

"What's going on Nat?" he whispered softly so the others wouldn't hear.

"Nothing." Natasha replied darkly

Daisy returned to her position next to Fury and one by one the Avengers took their seats. Natasha remained motionless.

"With this newfound information, this threat is our main priority. Our only lead is Loki." Agent Hill concluded

"Loki refused to talk." Clint pointed out

"Then we'll make him talk." Fury slammed his hand on the table.

"We can't let him out, who knows what he will do next?" Clint exclaimed

"Who said anything about letting him out?" Daisy replied with a smile.

The tension in the room builds as realization kicks in. Thor remained clueless.

"Thor, do you think it's possible to transport the Avengers to Asgard?" Fury asked

Thor gave a small gruff and a nod.

"Wait a minute, we're going to Asgard? I didn't agree with this." Clint objected

"Agent Barton we won't force you if you don't want to go." Fury replied calmly.

Relieved, Clint sank back to his chair.

"We won't force you if you don't want to," Fury continued, "Romanoff and Johnson are necessary for interrogation. Thor for transport. The rest of you can either accept or decline at you own free will."

"Asgard? Heck yeah I'm going!" Tony said with an excited grin.

"Thank you Mr. Stark" Fury replied with a huff

Bruce and Steve politely declined the offer.


	4. Chapter 4

The trip to Asgard was complicated. Agent Hill insisted on having them bring communication devices to Asgard but Thor declined saying that mortal technology won't be much of use. The 4 of them gathered in the circle and Thor gave the instruction for them to hold on to the case's handles. With a strong twist they found themselves traveling out of one realm and into the next: Asgard.

They found themselves in the middle of the repairing bifrost. Commotion about mortals entering Asgard quickly spread through the workers repairing the rainbow bridge. Thor didn't take notice as he heads towards the looming gold structure of the Asgardian Royal Palace. The Avengers quickened to match his pace.

Daisy wasn't sure how long they had traveled. Over and over she was marveled by the vastness and complexity of Asgard. By the time they reached the front gates of the castle, she was sure her jaw had dropped all the way to the ground. The guards parted as Thor passed moving in a quick but steady pace. After a series of twists and turns Thor eventually stopped at a less pleasant section of the castle: the dungeon.

Asgardian dungeons were quite different yet similar to earth's prisons. Thor explains that there were close to no prisoners in Asgard because the primary punishment for offenders was banishment: to earth. Stripped of powers and thrown into the mortal world to live and die like humans. But Loki was an exception. The officials decide to keep Loki as far away to Earth as possible and the only two options were execution and confinement. Being the son or adopted son of the Allfather, Loki's life was spared and he was sentenced to live in the castle dungeon for as long as they feel necessary.

Thor stopped in front of a double door. The guards on each side opened to door with a grand flourish and in the middle of the room was a chair and a hunched figure with an unmistakable green cape. Natasha holds back a gasp and her hand flies to the gun resting in its holder. Tong tenses as the sight too. Even Daisy's bright smile vanished. Only Thor and the guards remained calm.

Natasha had expected to see chains, a cage, even prison bars that separated Loki from them but there was nothing. Loki was hunched over sitting on a chair with a bright white light spotlight forming a perfect circle around him. As the door slammed shut behind them. Loki raised his head up and gave a grin to his visitors.

"Relax my friends. I am quite harmless" Loki's voice sounded weak. Lacking the usual mischief and ego in his tone.

"Loki..." Thor started but Loki cut him off.

"I know brother... You need information. You brought help. Pity you had to travel such a long way to be disappointed..." he gave slow chuckle sounding much like his old self.

"Why won't you tell us Loki?" Natasha spoke up

"Ah... Agent Romanoff..." he grinned, "I suppose Fury sent you to play mind games on me again isn't that right?"

He turned to Stark.

"And of course... The man of Iron. Where is your impressive suit of Iron?"

"Pepper is dry cleaning it back on earth." Tony stated sarcastically. Loki gave a grin.

"Without your suit you are just another weak mortal." Loki stated. Stark opened his mouth to object but Loki's eyes flickered to Daisy who shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"And who is this?" He stared at Daisy with curiosity before Natasha cut him short.

"Loki why won't you tell us." Natasha asked tiredly

Loki just laughed.

"How desperate are you?"

"After the Chitauri attack, we want to prevent a war before it happens." Natasha replied simply.

"I won't give the information freely Agent Romanoff, but I will make you an offer... My release for valuable information of your enemies. Believe me I am not the one you should be most concerned about." he lowered his head.

Thor looked thoughtful but Daisy jumped in.

"He's dangerous Thor."

Thor opened his mouth to speak but Natasha spoke first.

"He's hurt, he's angry. He feels alone." her voice was expressionless. "He has been lied to for most of his life and it has broken him... That's enough to make anyone dangerous."

Loki's head rose to meet Natasha's eyes for just a second before she turned away.

"I want to go home." she stated before walking out the door.

Loki's eyes lingered at the spot where Natasha disappeared. And it's slightly did he feel a little warmth in his heart that he thought was long gone. Natasha was like him, and he was like her.

"Well that changes everything." Tony remarked sarcastically.

Yes... Yes it does, Loki silently thought. He felt a new plan be created in this mind. He gave a low chuckle, then smiles his famous evil grin as he watched the rest of the Avengers leave the room.


End file.
